What's Your Excuse: Moziah Bridges

The world is full of negativity. Negative media, negative attitudes, negative ideas, negative people, and the list goes on and on. Some would even argue that planet Earth has stagnated at a negative frequency… thanks humans. It is easy to believe these ideas. After all, they are constantly repeated, day in - day out, until even the most optimistic souls succumb to the cynical view every now and then. One simply needs to turn on a television, or tune in to the local radio station, or even drive through a major city; the low vibes are everywhere.

But, the positive vibes are just as prevalent. One simply needs to open a book, talk to another human, tune in to the local radio station, or even drive through a major city to find them. Ultimately, it is up to individuals to tune in to the frequencies that we desire. In an effort to support the dissemination of positive frequencies, this will be the first of the “What’s Your Excuse” miniseries. Many people, children and adults alike, are doing great things in the world, positive things. Whether or not we are aware of these achievements is completely up to us. We are living in an age of unprecedented access to information. We can no longer blame the ever present “They” for our lack of knowledge, success, or motivation. It is time to take action for ourselves. It is time to arm our communities with empowering information and tune in to the higher frequencies that are just as present throughout Earth’s many ecosystems. Others are rising above the negativity, so what's your excuse?

Moziah Bridges is a 17 year old African American entrepreneur. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he founded his company, Mo’s Bows at the age of 9. In his short documentary, Moziah’s mom explains that Mo has had a passion for fashion from a young age. When most elementary school children obtain the freedom to dress themselves for the first time, “fashionable” is not the word I would choose to describe them. I didn’t even understand the concept of matching colors until late elementary school, and even then, my family would laugh at my decisions to wear a blue shirt with my blue jeans and blue shoes. Moziah on the other hand, accepted his new found autonomy with a fashion guru’s intuition, and is still running with it. According to Moziah, “A man wears a necktie because he has to, but a man wears a bow tie because he wants to.” All I have to say is… #preach.

At the age of 11, Mo made an appearance on the reality TV show Shark Tank. If you are not familiar with it, the show allows aspiring entrepreneurs to pitch their company to a panel of harsh, realistic investors. These investors (aka sharks) are willing to invest significant amounts of capital into businesses that they deem worthy, in exchange for a varying percentage of the company. Moziah did not leave the panel with any money for his company, but he did obtain something worth much more. “The People’s Shark,” Daymond John agreed to mentor Moziah rather than invest and acquire any percentage of Mo’s Bows. His one stipulation, Mo could not take any money from any of the other Sharks. An African American fashion mogul himself, Daymond identified with Moziah’s background, and didn’t want to see the young man taken advantage of by the other Sharks. With Daymond John’s mentorship, Mo’s Bows is now valued at over $1 million. Moziah Bridges is already a successful entrepreneur, there is no doubt about that. But he is only 17. After graduating high school, he aspires to attend the Parsons School of Design in New York City, and despite his successes thus far, Mo intends on creating a complete fashion line by the time he is 20 years old.

Moziah Bridges met President Barack Obama, served as the fashion liaison for the 2015 NBA Draft, was listed on Time Magazine’s 2015 Most Influential Teens, and has even started his own charity associated with Mo’s Bows. In his “free time” Mo has established himself as an international public speaker. He travels around the globe in an effort to inspire other youth to rise above mediocrity. This kid is an all-star. He is a game-changer. Mo took advantage of an opportunity and he is paying it forward to the kids in his community, as well as communities across the world. Moziah lives on the same planet that you do. He is surrounded by the same negative and positive frequencies that you are. I do not presume to know everything about his circumstances, but it is pretty evident that he utilized one of his passions at a young age, and he is on a mission to change the world with it. So tell me again, what’s your excuse?